In Adamless Eden: The Community of Women Faculty at Wellesley
by Patricia Ann Palmieri
Queer Places:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
Wellesley College (Seven Sisters), 106 Central St, Wellesley, MA 02481
Braggville Cemetery, 120 Rockland St, Holliston, MA 01746, USA
Charlotte Almira "Lottie" Bragg (August 17, 1863 - August 31, 1957) was born on August 17, 1863, in Milford, Worcester County, Massachusetts, as a member of an early New England family to parents Ariel Bragg (1813–1866) and Sarah E. Kimball Bragg (1826–1907). She grew up alongside her siblings, including George Archer, Francis A., Samuel Atherton, Herman A., Luther Chamberlain, and Charles Sumner Bragg. Following her early education, she graduated from Holliston High School and Wilbraham Academy, and subsequently earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1890. Before beginning her long tenure in higher education, she taught at a private school in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Bragg built a distinguished career as a scientist and educator, teaching at Wellesley College from 1890 until her retirement in 1930. Her initial appointment at Wellesley was as an instructor in Chemistry and Geology, a title she held until 1897 when she was named associate professor of chemistry, eventually becoming professor emeritus of chemistry. Over her decades of teaching, she instructed approximately 1,500 chemistry students, conducting her lectures and laboratory classes in a crowded "temporary" building that housed the Chemistry Department before Pendleton Hall was constructed. Beyond Wellesley, she was an active member of the American Chemical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Association of University Professors.
During the period spanning from 1900 to 1910, Bragg was an integral part of Wellesley College's pioneering all-female professoriate. Wellesley was unique at the time as a women's college committed from its founding to maintaining women presidents and a fully female faculty. Within this progressive academic environment, Bragg worked alongside a stellar community of pioneering intellectuals, scholars, social reformers, and literary figures who shaped early modern higher education and women's intellectual history in the United States, fostering the close-knit professional and personal networks among women educators characteristic of the era's academic communities.
In her personal life, Bragg traveled extensively both abroad and throughout the United States. In her later years, her summer home was located in Marblehead, Massachusetts, while she spent her winters in Florida or California. Following her retirement from Wellesley, she dedicated twelve years as a volunteer for the Red Cross after learning Braille to transcribe books for the blind. Bragg passed away on August 31, 1957, at the age of 94 at her home in Melrose, Massachusetts. She was laid to rest at the Bragg family cemetery (Braggville Cemetery) in Holliston, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
References:
|
In Adamless Eden: The Community of Women Faculty at Wellesley by Patricia Ann Palmieri |
Other references:
Support this project
This website is a passion project researched, developed, and funded entirely by me. If you find the content valuable and would like to help support the ongoing research and hosting costs, any contribution is deeply appreciated.
Thank you for keeping this independent resource alive!
My books on Amazon: Elisa Rolle's books